Trump blocking people on twitter claimed by some to be against US Constitution

They may have a case when it comes to the official presidential account.

We will jus have to see what the court says. One of those things a judge will have to decide.

I think they do indeed have a case, but I also agree that we'll just have to wait for some of them judges to decide before it becomes official.

And I don't think it would be limited to Presidential accounts either. IMO, it would probably apply to any elected officials who chose to utilize
public social media to communicate with their constituents.

For instance;
Would it be legal for congressional representatives to hold their public town hall meeting online and block all oppositional viewpoints?

Is it a "town hall" when only friends are allowed in? In such a scenario, are all the constituents being offered equal access to redress their
grievances?

Furthermore, according to the Reuters article, existing case law already tends to support the Knight Institute's position as well.

I'm no lawyer, but I'm betting the Knight Institute is probably correct.

The problem here is that he is using his own account as the Official Presidential account - and he's said it was the Official Presidential Account.

Government accounts run under a different set of rules than private citizens' accounts. Government accounts can't block comments or groups of people.
If he had said it was his private account and if he was using the Official Presidential Account for announcements and so forth, it would be a
different thing.

As it is, ALL his tweets (even the ones he's deleted) are now part of public government records and are preserved and archived as such.

They may have a case when it comes to the official presidential account.

We will jus have to see what the court says. One of those things a judge will have to decide.

I think they do indeed have a case, but I also agree that we'll just have to wait for some of them judges to decide before it becomes official.

And I don't think it would be limited to Presidential accounts either. IMO, it would probably apply to any elected officials who chose to utilize
public social media to communicate with their constituents.

For instance;
Would it be legal for congressional representatives to hold their public town hall meeting online and block all oppositional viewpoints?

Is it a "town hall" when only friends are allowed in? In such a scenario, are all the constituents being offered equal access to redress their
grievances?

Furthermore, according to the Reuters article, existing case law already tends to support the Knight Institute's position as well.

I'm no lawyer, but I'm betting the Knight Institute is probably correct.

The problem here is that he is using his own account as the Official Presidential account - and he's said it was the Official Presidential Account.

Government accounts run under a different set of rules than private citizens' accounts. Government accounts can't block comments or groups of people.
If he had said it was his private account and if he was using the Official Presidential Account for announcements and so forth, it would be a
different thing.

As it is, ALL his tweets (even the ones he's deleted) are now part of public government records and are preserved and archived as such.

It's not the @potus account - it's his own account.

It's a ridiculous notion to suggest he is not allowed to block people on twitter. Are there any depths of stupidity that the Trump Derangement
Syndrome will not sink to?

Actually, that is a violation of both the Bill of Rights and the Ten Commandments.

FIRST AMENDMENT: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of troll armies, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
censorship by liberals, or of the multinational corporate press; or the right of liberals to riot in the streets, and to troll the Twitter accounts
of politicians that CNN told them to hate.

Do go on with your justification that Trump should be sued for blocking people on Twitter from his personal account.

Another battle liberals are going to lose, which I must say will be enjoyable in it's own right.

From his personal Twitter account:

Donald J. Trump‏
Verified account
@realDonaldTrump 6h
6 hours ago

I will be nominating Christopher A. Wray, a man of impeccable credentials, to be the new Director of the FBI. Details to follow.
.............
Donald J. Trump‏
Verified account
@realDonaldTrump 16h
16 hours ago

Senate passed the VA Accountability Act. The House should get this bill to my desk ASAP! We can’t tolerate substandard care for our vets.

You put the outrage in outrageous, with this line of thinking that trolls should get carte blanche to decimate the comments sections of his twitter
posts (which is effectively shouting down everyone elses opinions).

I dont know if you're ever seen the comments, but the time I went into one I was mesmerized I had never seen such troll spamming in my life (which
I'll admit did give me a good chuckle LOL).

As an analogy, someone shouting profanity at me from the streets, I don't have to hear it. I can install a sound proof window. That's not blocking
free speech. That person is still shouting profanity. I'm just not hearing it.

I dont know if you're ever seen the comments, but the time I went into one I was mesmerized I had never seen such troll spamming in my life (which
I'll admit did give me a good chuckle LOL).

I have not. But, I guess that's what you'd expect from a Donald trump Twitter feed. It was always a bad idea for the President go use Twitter as his
preferred method of addressing the American people, imo.

originally posted by: allsee4eye
As an analogy, someone shouting profanity at me from the streets, I don't have to hear it. I can install a sound proof window. That's not blocking
free speech. That person is still shouting profanity. I'm just not hearing it.

The real difference being that you're not the government or an acting agent of the government.

I think the argument is tenuous at best since twitter is simply one avenue for people to follow what trump says and does, but the fact that trump is
using his personal twitter feed as his public policy and announcements method, it makes this much grayer legal area than some may want to admit.

I'm certain government employees also block people on twitter. Nothing against the constitution about that. Technically speaking, text is not speech.
That's why there is text to speech. Blocking on twitter blocks people from texting, not speaking, i.e. making speech.

I don't want to get too technical about text and speech, but everyone deserves privacy, including the president. It's his or her right to block people
on twitter.

While anyone is free to make whatever comments they like, as guaranteed by the constitution, one must realize there are consequences to comments one
makes. Hate speech can even lead to jail time. Mocking people and personal attacks on twitter can get you blocked. That's just life. Like people say,
there is no free lunch.

I'm certain government employees also block people on twitter. Nothing against the constitution about that. Technically speaking, text is not speech.
That's why there is text to speech. Blocking on twitter blocks people from texting, not speaking, i.e. making speech.

I don't want to get too technical about text and speech, but everyone deserves privacy, including the president. It's his or her right to block people
on twitter.

The President’s Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, is a “designated public forum” subject to the First Amendment, according to the Knight
Institute. The First Amendment bars the government from excluding individuals from a designated public forum because of their views. The Knight
Institute asked the President to unblock its clients, or to direct his subordinates to do so.

Under the leadership of Jameel Jaffer a Canadian citizen who is an ACLU leader who would have taken the other side if a Democrat was in the White
House. Unless someone is going to claim the Democrats don't also block nut jobs

He's promoting his career at a Liberal institution. I doubt he gives a damn.

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